JONATHAN ERICKSON

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Barges broke lose from tug

After the breakup of a large tow from the US American tug 'Jonathan Erickson', 651 gt (IMO: 8836601), a number barges drifting downriver on the Mississippi River near Savanna, Illinois, on April 24, 2022. At 10:48 a.m. the Savanna Fire Department (SFD) was contacted by the Coast Guard and told that several barges had broken free from the tow and were drifting south toward the Savanna-Sabula bridge. Three crew members were reported to be onboard one of the barges that had broken free. The fire department responded with two fire boats, and firefighters were able to remove the three deckhands from the barge quickly. A six-barge tow section occupied by the employees, a two-barge section and a single barge had already made it past the bridge before SFD had arrived on scene. The Savanna Police Department informed the fire department that the single barge had struck the bridge and was taking on water. A tug from Sabula was contacted and was able to gain control of the six-barge and two-barge sections on the Iowa side, while the sinking single barge eventually ran aground out of the channel on the Illinois side. The 'Jonathan Erickson' was meanwhile gathering up barges that were still north of the bridge and reforming the tow. Due to the allision with the bridge, the Illinois Department of Transportation, along with the SFD, Savanna Police Department and law enforcement from Iowa shut the bridge down for several hours while crews inspected the bridge for damage. IDOT opened the bridge just after 2 p.m.